Montero, D-backs top Royals

Miguel Montero hit a go-ahead, two-run double in eighth inning on Friday and the Diamondbacks defeated the Royals, 6-4, in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

Brad Ziegler (3-1) earned the win despite allowing Kansas City to tie the game, 4-4, in the seventh on a double by Irving Falu and an RBI single by Alex Gordon.

Willie Bloomquist and Justin Upton began the eighth with consecutive singles off of Kelvin Herrera (0-1) and Montero greeted Tim Collins with a deep fly to left-center, which landed past the diving Mitch Maier and scored both runners.

J.J. Putz stranded a runner on second base in the ninth to record his eighth save of the season.

"It's a little frustrating for me because I gave up the two runs and they weren't even mine," said Collins. "The last thing you want to do is give up somebody else's runs. To go out and not get the job done, that's really what it came down to."

Montero finished with three RBI and Chris Young added a two-run double in the sixth inning for the Diamondbacks, who have won back-to-back games for the first time since winning three straight from April 29-May 1.

The Royals, losers of three in a row, got a solo homer from Billy Butler and a two-run double from Humberto Quintero.

Joe Saunders allowed three runs over a six-inning start for Arizona while Luis Mendoza gave up four runs over 5 2/3 innings for Kansas City.

Montero scored Upton with a double in the first, but Quintero countered with his two-run two-bagger an inning later and Butler led off the third with a homer for a 3-1 lead.

The Diamondbacks went on top with a three-run sixth inning, sparked by back- to-back-to-back singles from Gerardo Para, Willie Bloomquist and Upton. Parra came home on Upton's base hit and Young, who was reinstated from the disabled list prior to the game, followed with a one-out, two-run double for a 4-3 advantage.

"It was great," Young said of his return to the team. "You have a little more adrenaline flowing. You're locked in a little more and you just have fun with it. It feels great to be back in the lineup."

Game Notes

Kansas City fell to 4-16 at home on the season...Young landed on the 15-day DL with a right shoulder contusion on April 18. To clear room on the roster, the Diamondbacks optioned outfielder A.J. Pollock to Triple-A Reno on Friday.